DAY 61
Saturday 10 September 2011
After being awakened by Charles at 4 AM we took our flashlights and trekked out to see sea turtles lay eggs on our beach on the Ionian Sea. Too bad we didn’t learn till later that the season was pretty much over, so we searched for an hour then fell asleep back at the van. At 9:30 AM we stowed our gear and despite Nicole saying she wished we could stay another day, and a staff person saying we were a “beautiful family,” we headed to Sparta.
 |
| Working in the camp bar |
Through an area known for Mycean tombs with switchbacks that made “James Bond” (our GPS) look like a Richter scale on its side, we drove past olive groves, cypress, palm and fig trees and grape vines. We stopped at a fruit and vegetable stand and bought ingredients for a Greek salad. In the town of Kalamata (famous for extra large olives) we bought some, and then drove through a fantastic Grand Canyonesque high mountain region leading to Sparti. The overhangs where dynamite had blasted the road were like rock roofs with no support on the right side. Charles did a masterful job driving.
 |
| Serious switchbacks |
Finally as dusk fell we entered the town where little boys of yore were killed if deemed too weak for service in the military and later when the Spartans won all the surrounding territories they couldn’t rule worth a damn because they were fighting machines not thinking human beings.
 |
| Huge overhangs |
So we continued on to Astros, a small town on the Aegean Sea that was hopping with last-day- of-summer crowds. We ate our Greek salad dinner on the jetty then walked around and scoped out a delightful free parking place near the water. Unfortunately the mosquitoes also staked it out and we were THEIR dinner.
Some observations: Dian’s mom and dad gave invaluable gifts, a knife and small whisk broom which we used every day. Greek men are handsome in a George Clooney way. Nicole’s iPod is a wealth of musical treats for our long driving stretches. Toll roads are a rip-off (we are just in the height category for trucks). There are no thrift stores. The environmental roadside murals we saw on the side of the highway were as good as Berlin and Amsterdam’s street art, though not as common a sight.
 |
| This actually IS Sparta! |
After being awakened by Charles at 4 AM we took our flashlights and trekked out to see sea turtles lay eggs on our beach on the Ionian Sea. Too bad we didn’t learn till later that the season was pretty much over, so we searched for an hour then fell asleep back at the van. At 9:30 AM we stowed our gear and despite Nicole saying she wished we could stay another day, and a staff person saying we were a “beautiful family,” we headed to Sparta.
Through an area known for Mycean tombs with switchbacks that made “James Bond” (our GPS) look like a Richter scale on its side, we drove past olive groves, cypress, palm and fig trees and grape vines. We stopped at a fruit and vegetable stand and bought ingredients for a Greek salad. In the town of Kalamata (famous for extra large olives) we bought some, and then drove through a fantastic Grand Canyonesque high mountain region leading to Sparti. The overhangs where dynamite had blasted the road were like rock roofs with no support on the right side. Charles did a masterful job driving. 
Some observations: Dian’s mom and dad gave invaluable gifts, a knife and small whisk broom which we used every day. Greek men are handsome in a George Clooney way. Nicole’s iPod is a wealth of musical treats for our long driving stretches. Toll roads are a rip-off (we are just in the height category for trucks). There are no thrift stores. The environmental roadside murals we saw on the side of the highway were as good as Berlin and Amsterdam’s street art, though not as common a sight.
No comments:
Post a Comment